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When you’re sitting at the harp, your feet should be able to comfortably move all the pedals. With your shoulders at their normal height, and your elbows out, forearms parallel to the floor, your hands should arrive at the mid-point of the strings without having to reach up or down. There should not be a lot of weight on your shoulder. If you have especially long legs or torso, you will have to experiment with how low you sit and how far away from the harp, but keep trying until you’re comfortable. Then measure how high your chair is and how far away you are! After finding the ideal set-up, you’d hate to lose it again!
To ad to Carl’s answer, try doing these patterns with your eyes closed. Try playing chord inversions this way! It forces you to be very aware of how your hand feels when it is forming these shapes. It also affirms how well you know your way around the instrument. You would be surprised to find that you can close your eyes and put your finger on whatever string you choose, with a little practice.
You have brought up an important facet of teaching! If the parent(s) are supportive and help guide the student’s practice sessions constructively during the week between lessons, that student will progress at a much faster rate than someone without this advantage. However, I have met parents who were so unreasonable in their expectations that it caused their talented child to quit playing. At the other end of the spectrum, I have run into parents who were so lax about whether their child practiced or even got to their lessons, that it seriously hampered the student’s development. Then there are the ones who force their reluctant and unhappy kid to study music for all the wrong reasons. I try to rise above it and not let it affect the lessons, but if I have a student who really does not want to be there and has no gift for music, then I gently point the parents in the direction of another field that might suit their child better.
In response to Kim, I totally agree that block placing is essential to learn from the beginning. But students notice when the teacher is doing something else, so, rather than letting them go off on their own to try something without my help, I teach them how to do both types of placing, but I never let them lose their hand and finger position or wrist stability. Generally, they still place 2 and 3 as a block with only the slightest delay before the last finger. You bring up another good point as well: how to place chords. I was taught to place the middle fingers first, since they are the longest fingers and the easiest to see, thus allowing the hand to be in the perfect position to approach the strings. But there are the occasional instances in which it is impossible to do this, because of musical considerations. I completely agree with you that it is imperative that students learn really solid technique, but this is another tool in the arsenal, along with trill techniques (a classic example of sequential placing), oscillation, etc.
Anna Dunwoodie and Lisa Williamson (New Zealand) have put out two progressive volumes of short sight-reading exercises. It sounds like this is perfect for what you are describing. Email me off list to get their contact information, if you’re interested.
Here’s a gem from a Susann Macdonald master class: “A stopped string can’t buzz”. Words to live by. Off topic, from an old Laugh-in show: “He who speaks with forked tongue should never kiss balloon.”
Ah, yes, Carl, I do teach it. I also explain to my students, right from the start, that their musical taste should dictate how they are going to place and finger every passage.
I just realized that I did not clarify what I meant by “similar”. In cascading passages, I place the thumb first, then 2,3 simultaneously, then 4 as I play 3. It’s sequential placing with a slight difference. In thumb slides, if they’re happening as part of a larger sequence, I place the other fingers simultaneously as I slide the thumb, not before. If the thumb slide occurs at the beginning of a piece or a phrase, then I place the other fingers before the slide.
In response to Diane’s query about ascending scale placements: A few years ago, I noticed that I had started crossing under with 4,3 in my left hand quite unconsciously. Now my left hand scales are smoother and more comfortable than my right! I don’t place them before placing the 2nd finger, though. It happens at the usual time, but the only difference is that both the fourth and third fingers place simultaneously. When I read that article, I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only one doing this! Back to the topic, though: in Lariviere’s Exercices et Etudes, there are some scale exercises which force you to place in sequence, probably because it is such an important skill to have.
I use a similar technique, which I refer to as “throwing” the fingers on, especially in cascading passages. I would not be surprised if a lot of us have evolved various techniques to achieve legato or staccato playing. Block placing is essential in a lot of contexts, but there are passages in which you have to allow notes to ring a bit longer, thus necessitating a different kind of placement. After all, we’re musicians first, harpists second.
I have just recently had a book of pieces published that is good for intermediate to advanced harpists, and all the pieces work on both lever and pedal harp. All the original pieces are melodic and accessible to listen to, and there are arrangements of Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair, Sleepers Awake, and the Flower Duet from Lakme. Six of the pieces will be in the new Royal Conservatory Syllabus. I’ve had really good feedback already from those harpists and teachers who have bought it. It’s available from http://www.theavondalepress.com.
I agree with most of your criteria for good students, though I am happy if they pay per lesson (as long as they remember to pay). I also don’t mind if they occasionally consult another teacher, as long as they are up front about it and the other teacher’s ideas aren’t diametrically opposite to mine. Of course, this only works if both teachers are on good terms and respectful of each other’s ideas. A good student listens well and absorbs the information, so that progress is made at every lesson. It helps if there is natural talent, but a strong work ethic and a sense of respect and appreciation go a long way. A love of music goes without saying.
Thanks for the recommendation. I have two of Philip Johnston’s books already. It looks like he has outdone himself with this one!
I have been short-sighted all my life, but only in the last few years has it been necessary to wear contacts specifically made for reading music. I have “monovision” contacts, so that I can see the strings up close but I can also read my music, which is just beyond my arm’s reach. When you’re getting your prescription renewed, before you leave the house, measure exactly how far your music sits away from your eyes when you are seated at the harp. Also measure how far your other eye is from the harp strings. Bring your music and music stand with you and use that as the test instead of the little sheet of words that they usually ask you to read. Make sure you place the music stand at exactly the same distance that you measured before, and you will find that you will have the perfect precription for your purposes.
